Page B2-The Chronicle, ThuYsday, April 5,
Spring Sports
Ramette sof
the future m
By ROBERT ELLER a
Chronicle Sports Editor
Winston-Salem State women's Softball
Coach Tim Grant was hoping for a betterthan-.500
year when practice began for
the 1984 season.
With the loss of his pitcher, two outfielders
and his second and third
basemen, Grant had to pencil five new
starters into the lineup and hope the team
would come around in time for postseason
play.
"When the season began, I knew we
would be young and inexperienced,"
Grant says. "We had five new starters
and I hoped we would develop over the
season and play .500 ball."
But 12 games into a 26-game regularseason
schedule, Grant finds his team
with a 9-3 overall record and wins in both
its conference contests.
And his tune has changed as he looks
"We are ahead of the schedule I
set for the team before the season.
I have been blessed with some new
_. ./ i _ ?-- f -
gins wnu nave a ioi oj latent. " r
? WSSU women's softball Coach a
Tim Grant
____________ 1
c
ahead to both the District 26 and CIAA
tournaments later this month. g
"We are ahead of the schedule I set for ?s
the team before the season," Grant says. s
"I have been blessed with some new girls a
who have a lot of talent. " r
Heading the list of gifted newcomers is - t
pitcher Donna Johnson. Johnson has pitched
every inning of the Rams' 12 games r
this season, hurled three shutouts and sur- v
rendered only five walks. In addition, she f
leads the team in hitting with a .606
average and is tied for the lead in runs " i
batted in with 19. The freshman from e
Madison-Mayodan High has also belted
three homers. r
Yet, Johnson is only one of a number (
of new players who have sparked the 1
team's early-season success. Junior Faye s
Strother, in her first year of softball, is
hitting .451 and has 16 RBIs.She is the 5
team's starting center fielder. t
Other starters in their first year of ac- 1
tion include second baseman Kim Camp- 5
bell, a local product hitting at a .387 clip. 1
The team's only senior, she returns to the
squad after sitting out the past two t
seasons. i
Sophomore short fielder Cindy i
Pompev is batting .473 while freshman i
right fielder Tammy McNair is hitting <
.363. Senior catcher Cynthia Kemp,
Sports People
From CIA /
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Mr. Congeniality
Sauls, a well-known, well-liked man at
1984
s
__s<
tball team:
ay be now
mother newcomer, is hitting an even
300.
i ne nnai new starter is f reshman third
>aseman Myra Cobb. An outstanding
lefensive player, she's batting .366.
Though he's been duly impressed by
tellar play from the new members of the
earn, Grant says, the performance of his
etuming veterans has been even better.
The top returnee is shortstop Faye
Dobb. The older sister of Myra, the
ophomore is tied with Johnson for the
earn lead in RBIs and is hitting .482. Last
eason, she was the CIAA's Most
/aluable Player while earning all-league
ind all-district honors. She also paced the
:iAA in home runs with 14.
Sophomore first baseman Kenan
denefee is the team's second-leading bat- j
er with a .580 average. She was also all- <
:iAA and all-district last season.
Another returning all-ClAA player is
eft fielder Beverly Bowden, who's batting
380.
Grant says" the biggest problem the
earn now faces is developing consistency.
'If we can develop consistency, there is
to team in the league or district that has
nore talent," he says. "But right now, we
ire still inexperienced."
Grant, now in his third year as the
eam's coach, says consistency is hard to
:ome by in women's Softball. "In
women's Softball, there just isn't a
;reat deal of consistency on offense," he |
ays, sounding slightly bewildered. "I've pent
three years trying to figure out why
ind I don't have the answer yet and
teither do the other coaches I've talked
o."
Grant speculates that concentration
nay oe tne Key. "(Jt the three games
ve've lost we've carried shutouts into the B
inal inning of each only to lose," he says. 21
'Maybe it's the difference between pjayng
high school and sandlot ball as opposd
to college ball." - f
Last year's team finished with a 17-13
ecord and was runner-up in both the- d
ZWA and District 26 tourneys. But Grant C
ikes his chances for both titles this h
eason. t
"We are stronger defensively this Is
;eason than last," he says. "We have i
hree shutouts already. In the past, I have r
iad a strong infield but not a fine defen- s
;ive outfield. This year we are strong s
:hroughout." /
Grant prefers an aggressive style of play o
and says he has spent a lot of time on base v
running. "We have good speed and we 4
>vant to put pressure on the defense to i:
-nake the good throw and the good \*
:atch," he explains. it
Please see page B4
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West Forsyth speedster Zeke William
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Hack On Sports
'Hoya Joya':
y ROBERT ELLER
ftronicle Sports Editor
Who was it that said, "Good guys always
inish last?"
I don't recall, but he was dead wrong Monlay
night. Now that John Thompson's
}eorgetown Hoyas
way - to the .
ng forward to
eading the works of
uch staunch Hoya
upporters as Sports |||&
Ilustration and even
?ne local sportswriter |HKBp 1
/ho jumped on the m
'these-guys-belong- WtKKm lam mm
n-prison" band/agon
when mention- Ellcr
ig Georgetown.
But, before I sit down to take in their
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: JuaVifiUliUg JUi
mm Staff Writer
J I often rewarded 1
' "' * brains, Winstonj
Sauls is an except
|impressive
to complement hit
several months, S
1 awards, includinj
from
BEfe^l outstanding defer
H But, there's m
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plans for the futi
with the
his deg
only three and a h
in political scienci
An outgoing, p
I example of the ax
will pay off in the
H^5 an over-achiever.
X that gave him a c
made the most of
"I sort of stun
Sauls says. "Whe
(photo by James Parker), was football. I w
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eloquently-written thoughts, 1 feel eminently
qualified to share a few thoughts of my own,
since 1 tabbed the Hoyas to win the NCAAs as
early as the pre-season.
First, John Thompson was seen hugging Fred
Brown at the end of Monday night's title win.
But that wasn't unusual. Thompson also hugged
his guard after Brown passed the ball to
UNC's James Worthy and handed the title to
North Carolina two years ago.
Michael Graham didn't knife a single opponent
during the Final Four. All he did was hold
Melvin Turpin and Akeem Olajuwon to four
points in the final 20 minutes of those two
games and slam dunk his way into two postgame
interviews.
Brent Musburger, the CBS Sports
mouthpiece, didn't want to dwell on it, but he
did point out that Thompson was the first
BLACK coach to win the NCAA title (Division
I, that is).
Musburger was careful because Thompson
had already on several occasions given his feel
urney ofEddie
necessai
"Hav
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nore for their brawn than their (Bill) H
Salem State University's Eddie I came 1
ion. * grades \
I Goldsboro native has stacked an "My
accomplishments in the classroom and, no
> feats on the field. Within the past didn't I
auls has received several academic Sauls sa
g an NCAA scholarship and a to impi
the CIAA as its Male Scholar- (B-plus]
ir. In addition, he was named to the Since
II team and tabbed the league's each se
isive player. consecu
ore... While most college seniors he has i
plate job prospects and uncerain made o
ire, Sauls already is busy at work Whil<
Revenue Service. sports
11 attend graduate school. Having academ
ree requirements in December after in his c
alf years, Sauls will receive his B.A. "I th
j next month. become
>ersonable young man, Sauls is an time w
iom that hard work and dedication amount
long run. Plainly speaking, Sauls is then prj
He took the football scholarship ding to
hance to further his education and socializi
it. do with
ibled into being a good student," "It is
n 1 came to State, my first priority schedul
as determined to do whatever was
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ason (photo by James Parker).
'eigns supreme
ings on that fact -- which is that it ought not be
something to be proud of, since our country has
allowed so few black men chance to win a national
title.
Musburger also gave Graham a chance to respond
to his charges that the freshman star was a
little too rugged. And Graham handled the opportunity
nicely, simply saying he didn't want
the reputation of being a bad guy.
Thompson put the cap on things when
Musburger asked him if he felt vindicated after
winning the championship. Big John, who
thinks first and foremost of his players, didn't
resort to the cliche responses most coaches and
athletes give. Instead, he went right to THE
point -- a point that, amid all of the criticism of
Thompson and his players, has been
mysteriously overlooked: "These kids get an
education and they graduate." Enough said,
John.
Now that the season is over, I'd like to see
CBS, with Musburger doing the narrating, go
Please see page B3
Sauls
ry to keep my eligibility." ,
ring good enough grades to stay on the team
roajar concern, - sayfc frauifcp mha adaite hg?i? y^anraveragie"
^HHZ.
ayes emphasized from the first meeting when
lere that, in order to play, we had to keep our
JP."
first semester I came out with a 2.6 average
t really understanding the grading structure, I
think that was enough to stay in school,"
tys. "The second semester I tried a lot harder
ove upon that and I came out with a 3.3
I."
that time, Sauls has seen his average increase
mester until it reached a perfect 4.0 in two
tive semesters last year. More impressively,
*i_I
complied a j.v average in ms major, having
nly one B in political science. ^
5 most people believe competing in college
prevents students from achieving their
ic potential, says Sauls, the opposite was true
ase.
link playing college football enabled me to
more organized and forced me to budget my
isely," says Sauls. "Knowing exactly the
of time that's required for going to class and
actice, I know how to allocate my time accor?
priorities. There's only so much time to
e and you have to decide what you're going to
it."
; extremely difficult to maintain such a tight
e," Sauls_says. "Playing college football is
Please see page B3